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| R.I.P. Durandal |
With the Durandal arc being wrapped up in this episode, the series will most likely end after the next arc. Since the light novel is still being published, the probability of a second season is quite high. With the element of magic added into the fight in this episode, I found it to be more exciting than the fight in Episode 4. Shirayuki's actions in this episode really changed my opinion of her. The only thing I hate about her now is her yandere personality and how her constant cries of "Kin-chan". Aside from that, she isn't a bad character overall. Her ability to use magic is definitely a plus. If she and Aria can work together, they, along with Kinji, can make a superior Butei trio.
With Durandal now standing in front of her, Aria takes the opportunity to reveal that she purposely left her role as Shirayuki's bodyguard so she can lure him out, after researching that Durandal targets a group by splitting up its members and eliminating them one by one. However, Durandal seems to be unaffected by this, asking Aria if she actually thinks that she has won. All of a sudden, Durandal drags Shirayuki into the darkness and starts flooding the place with water that came out form a hole in the ground. After a while of searching, Kinji and Aria find Shirayuki tied to a metal pole with multiple chain locks. As Aria tries to unlock the chains, Shirayuki reveals to Kinji that Durandal would have blown up Academy Island if she didn't keep the text message she received the day that they went to see fireworks together a secret. After finding out that Durandal may have escaped through a hole in the ceiling, Kinji tells Aria, who he knows cannot swim, to go after Durandal since the water level is rising. With Aria gone, Kinji attempts to pick all the locks as fast as possible in case she doesn't return in time. However, with the water level now up to Shirayuki's neck, he has only successfully unlocked one of the locks. At this rate, Shirayuki knew that he wouldn't make it so she tells him to save himself and climb up the ladder to the floor above. However, Kinji doesn't want to leave her behind even though she keeps telling him to. When she talks about how depressing her life as a Miko of the Hotogi is, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. After her depressing speech, a huge wave of water washes Kinji away. Despite that, he swims back to her, knowing that there is only one option left: Hysteria Mode. In order to activate it, he decides to kiss her. Hold on. This situation seems familiar. Right, the same thing happened between him and Aria in Episode 5. Very uncreative but, nonetheless, it gets the job done. Once in Hysteria Mode, Kinji is able to pick the remaining locks with ease, saving him and Shirayuki from drowning. As the two surface, Kinji says something that makes it seem like he wants to sound cool. Shirayuki obviously doesn't notice how stupid Kinji sounds because she is infatuated with him. After helping her up the ladder to the floor above, another wave comes and, this time, it proves costly as it delays his ascension with Shirayuki.
Once he finally gets to the water-free floor, Shirayuki is nowhere to be seen. After looking around for a bit, he is relieved to see that she is all right. Right when he starts walking towards her, he hears Aria call his name nearby. Luckily, he spots the piano wire hanging in her path and tells her to stop running before she touches it. He then goes over to it and cuts it in half in front of a speechless Aria. Soon after she collects her thoughts, she notices that Kinji is acting strange and suspects that he is in Hysteria Mode. However, his charm and witty words make her to be extremely embarrassed, causing her to be unable to ask him about it. She quickly reminds him that they are protecting Shirayuki and demands to know where she is; at the same time not wanting Kinji to see her embarrassed face. After he shows her where Shirayuki is, they both rush over to her and checks if she is all right. However, Kinji notices that something is weird about Shirayuki. To test his theory, he asks her if her lips are all right (from the kiss). When Shirayuki calmly responds to his question, Kinji knew that she is definitely an impostor and quickly tells Aria to run as he shoots the "fake" Shirayuki. Aria quickly learns the reason for Kinji's actions when she see realizes that there is a sword right at her neck. After restricting Aria's movements, Durandal quickly disarms her by freezing both her pistols. Even though she is at the mercy of Durandal, Aria is still able to tell off Durandal for his actions. Seeing as Aria is exactly what Riko described her to be (implying that both Durandal and Riko are part of the EU), Durandal also begins to ramble on about being a descendant of Jeanne d'Arc. After some further explanation, Durandal, which is only a nickname, identifies herself (yes, Durandal is female) as Jeanne d'Arc the 30th. With her lengthy rant done, Durandal attempts to convince Aria to join her in the EU. When Kinji points his gun at her, Durandal threatens to freeze Aria if he makes a move. However, Aria shows that she doesn't care about that and tells Kinji to shoot anyways. Before he can shoot, Durandal, who is sick of hearing Aria talk, decides to freeze her hostage's tongue while Kinji watches in horror as he is unable to help. Right before the lips of the two girls meet, the real Shirayuki appears and saves the day. However, even with Durandal being outnumbered three to one, she appears confident. In order to elude them for a little while longer, Durandal proceeds to throw smoke grenades to temporarily hide her escape route while, at the same time, activating the fire sprinklers on he ceiling. After the smoke clears, Durandal is nowhere to be seen. Having lost her pistols, Aria decides to take out her swords instead. However, the earlier damage from Durandal's icy breath made restricted the ability of her hands. Fortunately, Shirayuki is able to heal them with her powers as a Miko of the Hotogi. After telling Kinji to protect Aria, Shirayuki steps up to face Durandal, who has just revealed herself, one on one. With both sides having special powers, this match should be evenly matched. With that being said, the battle begins.
After freezing the whole area, Durandal confidently confronts Shirayuki, telling her it is foolish for her to fight alone. After Kinji assures Shirayuki that he will never hate her, she finally able to use the forbidden arts that all Miko of the Hotogi possess. As she raises her sword in the air, Shirayuki explains that her powers are passed down from her ancestors. During her explanation, flames appear and surround her sword. Shirayuki also reveals that "Shirayuki" is just a fake name to hide her real one: 緋色は巫女 (Hi-iro wa Miko) or "Himiko". The two girls then begin their sword fight. Irokaneayame (Shirayuki's sword) vs. Durandal (Durandal/Jeanne's sword). As the battle rages on, Aria and Kinji wait for an opportunity to strike. At the right moment, Aria and Kinji jump into the fray and successfully immobilize Durandal after Kinji performs his first sword edge catch (*cough* Hysteria Mode *cough*) while Aria points a gun at Durandal's head. However, Durandal doesn't give up just yet and starts to spawn ice on her sword, knowing that Kinji will let go of it unless he wants his hand to be frozen. One little problem though, Jeanne. You forgot about the strongest one of the three: Shirayuki. Because of this fatal mistake, Shirayuki is able to use an extremely strong skill allows her to cut through the Durandal sword like it is paper. Shocked at the loss of her precious sword, Jeanne gives up and doesn't resist arrest.
With the case of Durandal all wrapped out now, Adseard can now commence in peace. During the cheerleaders' cheer, Kinji couldn't help but notice Shirayuki's chest. In the end, his hatred of Hysteria Mode causes him to look away. At the end of the day, when the three are back at the dormitory, Aria explains to Kinji that Shirayuki got on the cheerleading team because there happened to be a vacancy. During this time of casual chatting, Shirayuki takes the opportunity to apologize to Kinji for not telling him that it Aria was the one who bought the cold medicine for him when he was sick. Not wanting to dwell on this topic any longer, Aria quickly changes it by telling Shirayuki to become her
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